Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 383 The Leaders' Meeting, A Predestined Ending
"Since ancient times, an army cannot move without provisions. For a person, the most important thing is food! No matter whether you are a beginner, a grandmaster, or a great grandmaster, it is impossible to reach the level of complete fasting and living on air and dew. At most, you are just more resistant to hunger than ordinary people!"

Wu Liangtian said, "No matter where that person is hiding in the Mo Family's Mechanized City, as long as we control all the food resources, we will definitely be able to force him out!"
What we need to do is to collect all the food in the city and put it in the canteen, then require everyone to eat in the canteen and strictly prohibit taking food out.

At the same time, strict checks are conducted at the entrances and exits of the canteen. Whether it is a person entering or a cook, their identity must be verified before they can enter the canteen.

Another way to obtain food was by hunting outside the city. Therefore, anyone entering or leaving the city had to be subject to strict checks.

In just three to seven days, the infiltrator, deprived of food, will inevitably take the risk and raid the canteen. Therefore, all we need to do is keep an eye on the canteen to force him out!

Everyone laughed upon hearing this.

"Xiao Tian's words are in line with military strategy. Although there are still some flaws, they are already very good in the current situation."

Master Xu spoke first, praising the plan but also directly pointing out its flaws.

Master Ban continued, "Some flaws are fine; we can just correct them."

Although the two were the first to speak out and make accusations, they were actually trying to protect each other. There is no perfect plan in the world, and it is better for them to point it out first than for the enemy to see it out.

Gao Jianli nodded and said, "The world's disguise techniques are nothing more than two types: makeup to conceal the truth or internal energy to bewitch the face. The former can be easily detected by carefully examining the face. As for the latter... internal energy is condensed from internal strength, which is cultivated from the body. If this person is practicing a disguise technique based on internal energy, he will actually need more food!"
The biggest flaw in this plan is that the opponent is also a master, and it would take at least three days to force them to take a desperate gamble.

Therefore, these first three days are the most crucial time. We must maintain strict vigilance, preventing him from preparing food in advance, and... absolutely not allowing him to achieve his goal within these three days!

Such an organized and planned invasion clearly indicates that the other party was not fighting alone.

Considering recent events, the most likely culprit is the assassin organization 'Quicksand' led by Wei Zhuang, or rather, the Qin state that supports 'Quicksand'!

The Qin state's goal was undoubtedly to destroy the entire mechanical city.

Gao Jianli said, "Strengthen defenses at all key locations within the city, and select elite guards to watch over them. At the same time, we must be extremely careful to prevent that intruder from infiltrating the guard ranks!"

The leaders all nodded.

Wu Liangtian suddenly interjected, "Actually, in situations like this, mechanisms might be more reliable than people. An intruder can disguise themselves as anyone, but they can never disguise themselves as a mechanism. If we use mechanisms to guard certain areas and prevent anyone from approaching, it might be simpler to defend against them than just having people guard them!"

Master Ban's eyes lit up: "That's right, there are quite a few traps. In terms of defense, it is indeed more reliable than people!"

At this moment, a disciple of the Mohist school knocked on the door.

"Come in."

"Leaders, Qin troops have been spotted down the mountain!"

"What?!" Everyone was immediately shocked: "How many people have come?"

"There were only about a hundred men, but they were all fully armed and elite."

"Only a hundred people?"

Gao Jianli frowned: "They're probably just scouting ahead. We should just repel them."

"The enemy is quite strong, including several innate masters!"

"Hmph! Innate level? You're really willing to spend that much. In that case, then I'll..."

"Chief Gao, no!"

Wu Liangtian spoke up to stop him, saying, "This move is probably another feint by the enemy. If Chief Gao were to personally appear at this time, who would be in charge of and arrange the various measures in the Mechanized City?"
The city was surrounded by numerous traps and mechanisms. The hundred-man scouts could only gather limited intelligence on the outskirts at best, but the intruders hiding within the city posed a deadly threat!

Master Ban also advised, "Yes, the matter within the city is the most crucial thing right now. As for that hundred-man army, let's send some disciples to drive the mechanical white tigers to repel them."

Gao Jianli released the Water Cold Sword: "So be it."

After such an incident, everyone felt a sense of urgency and quickly discussed and finalized various matters.

The most important issues, of course, are food and the security of many key locations within the city.

The former relates to how to force out the intruder, while the latter is directly related to the safety of the entire mechanical city.

In comparison, the latter seems to be more important.

However, the Qin army has already arrived at the foot of the mountain, and war is imminent. Once the war devolves into a protracted conflict, food will become extremely important.

So, in truth, the food within the city walls is extremely important at this moment.

The task of collecting all the food in the city now carries an additional significance compared to before.

After the meeting, Master Xu looked somewhat lost and asked, "Xiao Tian, ​​do you think the Mechanized City can hold off the enemy?"

"It's unstoppable...Master Xu, isn't this a consensus we already reached?"

"yes……"

Master Xu looked around. The mechanisms that were constantly in operation creaked and groaned, and the water flowed gently. Even the scenery of this mechanical city was the source of power for many of these mechanisms.

Not far away, several Mohist disciples walked side by side, chatting and laughing, completely unaware that danger was approaching.

Master Xu sighed.

Although he had long known that the Mechanized City could not possibly stop the Qin State, Xu Fuzi was still bewildered when faced with the reality of the situation.

Before this, although he was aware of this, he still instinctively believed that the mechanical city was strong enough to withstand any enemy, so he was always somewhat unhurried.

But reality told him that the enemy's offensive was as swift as lightning, leaving them no time to react.

Someone broke in last night, and by daytime, the Qin army had already arrived at the foot of the mountain to scout ahead.

Wu Liangtian, however, remained calm.

The Mechanical City is destined to be destroyed, not only because he has read the original story, but also because he understands the current situation.

In the original story, Wei Zhuang mobilized all his men, but the most important of them were Yin Fu and Hei Qilin.

Needless to say, Hidden Bat is the executor of the plan to attract attention; the real key lies in Black Qilin.

This person is an expert in disguise and is the least well-known member of the Quicksand organization.

Previously, apart from his companions in the quicksand, almost no one in the market knew that there was such a person in the quicksand organization.

After infiltrating the Mechanized City, Hei Qilin impersonated Gai Nie and attacked Master Ban. He not only obtained the city's blueprints from Master Ban but also framed Gai Nie, causing the Mohists to become extremely wary of him and confine him to his room, forbidding him from leaving. Through these blueprints, Gongshu Chou determined that the core power source of the entire Mohist Mechanized City was water; therefore, the central water tank within the city was the most crucial element!
Then, Chi Lian took out a rare and deadly poison called "Zhen Yu Qian Ye" and had Hei Qilin put it into the central pool. Through the water flow, the poison spread throughout the entire Mechanized City, ultimately causing the city to fall overnight!
Throughout the entire process, Wei Zhuang's design and planning, the deadly poison of the trial, Gongshu Chou's ability to break through the mechanical city, and Bai Feng's role in controlling the flying birds to transmit information and items were all crucial.

And the one that contributed the most was undoubtedly the Black Qilin.

However, this should not lead to the conclusion that the Mechanical City was ultimately captured solely because of Wei Zhuang's Quicksand organization.

In fact, the establishment of the Quicksand organization was a great achievement, but their actual role was to destroy the Mechanized City in the fastest speed and with the least sacrifice.

What will happen if their plan fails?

Hehe, although the Qin army will surround the city, it will suffer heavy losses due to the many traps and mechanisms of the city, and it will take a lot of time.

But the final result will inevitably be the destruction of the mechanical city.

The reason for this is that the strength of the mechanical city was completely incomparable to that of the Qin state.

Just as Wei Zhuang dispatched a hundred elite soldiers, Gao Jianli wanted to take action personally within the Mechanized City.

Is he just bored and itching to do something?

Do not!
There was simply no one in the Mo family's mechanical city capable of dealing with those hundred elite soldiers, so he, as the leader, had to take action personally.

Although they were eventually stopped, they still managed to bring out several mechanical White Tigers.

It should be noted that although the mechanical White Tiger can be mass-produced, the output is extremely low, and there are not many units in the entire mechanical city.

The Qin army, with its elite force of a hundred men like this, could probably send out wave after wave of them.

Especially since the commander was Wei Zhuang, who didn't care about the lives of the Qin soldiers at all.

The fate of the Mo Family's Mechanical City was predetermined from the very beginning.

It's just a matter of how quickly it happens and how many casualties there are.

Therefore, Wu Liangtian, who wanted to explore the secrets of the Xuanwu and Qinglong mechanisms, still offered the Mo family a food blockade strategy in order to force out the Black Qilin.

Because Wei Zhuang's actions are so swift that they will exceed everyone's expectations, the Black Qilin won't even need to wait until it needs food before the Mechanized City is breached.

Even though Wei Zhuang's plan was completely ruined by various unforeseen circumstances and ultimately failed, it only turned from a quick battle into a protracted war.

The fate of the Mo Family's Mechanical City was sealed.

If that's the case, why not take this opportunity to make your presence known and showcase your achievements?
Zhou Ming has no intention of removing Wu Liangtian's identity.

Now that I've joined the Mohist school, I'll stick with it to the end.

Anyway, it doesn't affect his plans in other areas such as Taoism, Yin-Yang School, Gongshu School, Confucianism, and the Qin State.

"Old Xu, the best course of action right now is not to confront Qin head-on, but to withdraw from the Mechanized City and preserve our strength!"

"Evacuating from the city... it's easier said than done, probably harder than moving a mountain."

Master Xu couldn't help but sigh.

Wu Liangtian naturally understood the difficulties involved.

The Mechanized City has stood for three hundred years without ever being breached, and the disciples of the Mohist School possess a kind of arrogant confidence in it.

The Mohist disciples will never give up the Mechanized City unless they truly fight the enemy and break their arrogance.

Furthermore, the decision to abandon the Mechanized City is not something an ordinary person can make.
It's like a country's capital facing the threat of enemy troops at its gates. The best solution is to move the capital, but the first person to suggest this will inevitably be attacked by everyone.

Even if everyone else understands that this is the best way, it's still the same.

Moreover, most disciples within the current Mechanized City probably do not agree with this method.

The only person in the entire Mohist school who could make this decision and gain the trust of so many disciples was the Mohist leader!
The title of "Master of the Mohist School" is not just an identity, but also the belief of many Mohist disciples.

Becoming the leader of the Mohist school requires extremely high qualifications. The approval of the previous leader is only one requirement; the consent of the numerous leaders below is also a necessary condition.

At the same time, their own talent cannot be too poor.

Regardless of Yan Dan's own thoughts, his abilities were certainly not lacking.

Their mastery of mechanical arts is absolutely top-notch among the Mohists of today.

In the original story, in order to counter Wei Zhuang's ultimate move, he specially added four variations to the Mo family's supreme weapon, "Non-Aggression".

It's important to know that the supreme weapon of non-aggression was modified by successive leaders of the Mohist school, starting with Mozi.

So many changes, accumulated generation after generation, have led to the current non-aggression strategy, which is extremely sophisticated.

Adding even one variation without violating the principle of non-aggression is extremely difficult, let alone four!
Another creation of the Mohists that has undergone various changes over the past few centuries is the Mechanical City.

But the Mechanical City is an entire city, while Non-Aggression is just a tiny thing the size of a palm.

If that's the case, the countless mechanisms accumulated in the Mechanical City over three hundred years still leave the current Mo family's mechanical masters helpless, only able to maintain them, but unable to add or modify them at will.

Yan Dan, however, was able to reform the concept of non-aggression!
Their mechanical skills were undoubtedly among the best of the Mohist school.

With just this one skill in mechanical arts, which was enough to overwhelm everyone in the Mo family, there were countless people in the Mo family who had complete faith in him.

Moreover, he was the disciple of the former leader of the Mohist school, Six-Fingered Black Knight, and many leaders, including Gao Jianli, were extremely loyal to him.

It can be said that with Yan Dan's order, even if the many Mohist disciples were reluctant and unwilling, they would absolutely obey the order and abandon the Mechanized City!
However, at this very moment, Yan Dan was not in the city at all.

Even though Master Xu and the others knew that the best solution was to evacuate, they lacked the necessary authority and the Mohist disciples would inevitably oppose it, so they had no choice but to suppress their thoughts.

"Even so, given the Grand Master's wisdom, he will likely make the same decision. In the meantime we wait for his return, we should make preparations first."

Wu Liangtian said, "Of course, the most important thing right now is to face the threat of the Qin army. If they break through the Mechanized City in just a few days, then nothing else matters."

Master Xu nodded: "That's right!"

(End of this chapter)